HOUSTON (AP) — Ethiopians swept the Houston Marathon on Sunday.
Bazu Worku successfully defended his Houston title, breaking away in the last mile to win with the third fastest time in the marathon’s history. Abebech Bekele won the women’s race for her first marathon title.
Worku and countryman Getachew Terfa were running side by side approaching the last mile when Worku pulled away to finish in 2 hours, 7 seven minutes, 32 seconds. The race record is 2:06:51, set by Ethiopia’s Tariku Jufar in 2012.
Bekele and countrywoman Biruktait Degefa were together through 22 miles before Bekele broke away and won in 2:25:52.
The top U.S. man was Ian Burrell in seventh place. The top American woman was Heather Tanner in ninth.
